His research discovered that 80 percent of aftermarket auto supplies were sold by independent, mom-and-pop operations, leaving room for a national discount retailer.

[2] Trak Auto expanded rapidly, following the same aggressive strategy as its recently formed sister company, Crown Books: heavy discounts on high-volume products from mostly suburban standalone locations.

The venture lost heavily, which Haft blamed on insufficient volume— "We needed 50 stores in Chicago and 100 in Los Angeles to break even" he would tell Fortune magazine in a 1987 interview.

The acrimonious family split led Businessweek to speculate that the elder Haft was deliberately using accounting measures to undermine the companies, to weaken Gloria and Robert: Trak Auto reported 1994 income had declined by 98% over the year before.

The Midwestern locations were closed, and the leases for 55 stores in Northern Virginia, Washington D.C. and eastern Maryland were assumed by Advance Auto Parts in 2002, which subsequently converted them to its brand.